I do take Aetna and United insurances and my private pay fee is $150

per 45/50 minute session.

I studied at Dallas Theological Seminary and earned my Masters in Biblical counseling. 

Yes! Although my degree is in Biblical counseling and I am trained to offer that perspective, I believe the most therapeutic approach is to meet the client where they are. I have seen and had success with clients from many backgrounds. 

Great question, glad you asked! A psychiatrist has a medical degree and is able to diagnose and prescribe medications. A psychologist has a Ph.D or Psy.D and focuses either on research and education or clinical practice and testing for neurological disorders such as ADHD or Autism. A counselor holds a masters or doctorate degree and typically focuses on talk therapy to address client's issues. 

The best approach for many is allow these three professions to work in tandem. The best way to approach someone who may need medication, for example,  would be to combine medication with therapy, medication helps stabilize and decrease symptoms while therapy allows the client to understand where the problems come from and figure out how they want to handle them. Another example might be a person who goes to talk therapy and realizes they may benefit from an ADHD evaluation. 

Having friends who truly know and accept you as you are is essential and beneficial for not only our emotional but physical health as well. As great as they are, there are limitations to what our friends can provide. The benefit of seeing a professional counselor comes from objectivity and expertise. Having someone outside the situation who is trained in listening, asking questions, and dealing with the specific issue that you are facing may be a benefit that you cannot gain from a friend. 

Each session is 45/50 minutes in length unless we decide together that longer sessions would be beneficial.

If you asked me this question, I would ask how you define "good enough." I have seen couples that are so emotionally intelligent and intentional that I would recommend coming in monthly, every three months or even every six months. Even these couples, however, often state that they gain something from the therapeutic process. There is something about intentionally sitting together with a therapist who really listens that alters the dynamic of the couple and paves the way for corrective experiences and deep connection between the couple.

If two people are willing to do the work of therapy, the answer is absolutely. I have had the privilege of watching couples go from feeling hopeless in their marriages to understanding the specific issues and the steps they can take to do something about it.

Pursuing therapy simply means learning to take control over whatever issue you are facing, be it large or small. We live in a broken world and unfortunately, all face challenges. Recognizing and admitting those challenges takes courage and even more-so the step to ask for help. Often people will seek help when they feel stuck in a certain behavior or thought pattern and need help to get out of it. 

For those of you who are faith based, I  see therapy as part of the sanctification process. Being able to explore how God wants to grow and change us is part of our spiritual journey.

One of the major lessons of couples therapy is that we cannot change our partner. This can be devastating for some who have endured pain in their marriage and truly want things to be better. Counseling can help to counteract that feeling of helplessness by identifying what you can control and learning to move forward in your own self care rather than waiting on your partner to change. 

The length of the overall therapy process varies from a few weeks to years. Every person is unique and comes in with unique issues to address so determining the length of therapy is subjective. That being said, if you prefer to create a loose plan for therapy, I am happy to collaborate with you to make that happen.

To begin, I recommend no less than twice a month to establish rapport and gain traction. Once we feel like we are making progress we can spread out our sessions to every three weeks, once a month or quarterly until we feel it is time for termination.

Termination is the goal of counseling and something we should discuss at the beginning of our meetings. When we mutually feel we have met our goals and have little to discuss it is time to discuss termination.

Feel free to peruse the resources page to see some of my favorites.